Warm welcomes set tone for students

Wednesday

ADDISON — Preschool children who attend the Valley Early Childhood School in Addison are welcomed to school each day with a warm greeting that starts their day in a positive way.

A team of greeters meets students at the door and in the hallways every morning and each child is given a choice of which greeting they’d like from a greeting board. Options include a high five, fist bump, thumb kiss and hug, or they can choose to pass.

“We believe that making this personal connection with each student every morning is important to creating an environment where students feel safe and part of a school family,” said Principal Tanya Loomis. “This routine helps students transition to their day in a positive way.”

The morning greeting is part of a building-wide implementation of conscious discipline practices. The practices integrate social-emotional learning into education so that students gain the critical skills they need to be successful throughout their lives, according to Loomis. Through conscious discipline, educators teach missing skills and reinforce positive skills that are needed to help children replace negative behavior with acceptable behaviors.

Valley Early Childhood School is an entire building dedicated to preparing children for elementary school and beyond. At Valley, the Addison district offers full-day academic programming to the community’s three- and four-year-old children, free of charge. The district provides transportation to Valley from shuttle sites at Tuscarora Elementary School, the Addison Community Center and the Woodhull Community Center.

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